As the nation approaches its 250th anniversary, the Institute for Humane Studies has launched a new funding initiative to help ensure self-government can meet the challenges of a changing world.
“Free societies endure when ideas keep pace with new realities. This initiative supports research that brings enduring principles into conversation with the conditions we face today, so that self-government remains both credible and workable.”
– Courtney Derr, Executive Director of IHS
IHS will draw on its network of more than 7,000 scholars to support targeted research projects aimed at strengthening the foundations of self-government.
“Free societies endure when ideas keep pace with new realities,” said Courtney Derr, executive director of IHS. “This initiative supports research that brings enduring principles into conversation with the conditions we face today, so that self-government remains both credible and workable.”
The initiative supports scholarship in three areas:
Energy and material abundance. Human flourishing depends on material abundance and economic dynamism. This research examines how markets and emerging technologies can deliver affordable, reliable energy at scale, expanding the conditions under which individuals and communities can thrive.
AI technology and human agency. Artificial intelligence is reshaping how people form judgments, access information, and make decisions. Research in this area asks how societies can absorb powerful technologies without undermining the human capacities that self-government requires.
Constitutional resilience. The separation of powers faces pressure from executive expansion, legislative dysfunction, and declining public trust. Research in this area explores how constitutional structures can adapt without abandoning the principles that justify them.
For six decades, IHS has identified promising classical liberal scholars early in their careers and supported their intellectual development. That long-term investment has produced a network shaping law, policy, and public understanding through Supreme Court briefs, new civic education programs, and reforms that expand opportunity. This initiative directs that capacity toward the intellectual work required to sustain free societies across generations.
To learn more about current opportunities in this funding initiative, visit the Requests for Proposals page.
